Quakertown Zoning Changes Nearing Final Approval

A revision of the zoning ordinances in Quakertown, after more than 2 1/2 years in the making, could receive final approval before the year's end.

Quakertown Councilman F. Rudolph Brannaka said at last night's Planning Commission meeting that revisions to the zoning ordinances are nearing their final stages.

He characterized the changes as minor and in many instances merely clarifications of the current ordinances.

The changes offered in the newly delineated ordinances would allow for non-conforming signs to be removed for repair and restoration within a specified 90-day period.

The current height limitations for structures along Route 309 would be raised to 45 feet from its existing limit of 42 feet.

Along with that change and included throughout the ordinances, the borough plans to eliminate reference to structures by the number of stories they contain. Under the new ordinances, a story will be considered 10 feet.

There will also be changes in permitted uses within various districts, Brannaka said.

Permitted uses in the highway-commercial district, currently prohibited under existing ordinance, will be commercial services, pharmacies, bus and rail stations, printing and publishing concerns.

Light industrial zones will permit retail centers and retail stores.

In both those zones, as well as hospital zoned areas, single family detached dwellings will also be permitted under the new regulations.

Construction of pharmacies will be permitted in neighborhood commercial zones. And as a conditional use in that district, community centers will also be allowed.

Community centers will also be permitted in the town-center district, as will pharmacies and indoor theaters. Currently, none are permitted uses.

Parking requirements, currently the same for service stations which pump gas and offer car repair and operations which solely pump gas, is also slated for change.

Brannaka pointed out that the existing ordinance makes no distinction between the two types of gas stations which have different parking needs particular to the kinds of business they perform.

As three council seats are up for grabs in the upcoming November elections, Brannaka said he believes it would be in council's best interest to consider adoption before the new members are seated in January. Another alternative, he said, is to postpone adoption until the new members have had an adequate period with which to become familiar with the ordinances.

But he commented that council is probably as well prepared as ever to air the ordinances in a public forum and consider their adoption.

"We certainly have gone over it and hammered it pretty hard," he said.

Right now, the biggest potential stumbling block is whether the ordinances can be completed, printed and and made availble to the public in sufficient time to bring the question to a public hearing before the year ends.

Should the ordinance books be available in time and council act expediently to set a hearing date, Brannaka said, "I think we're in the time frame that we can do it."